Empire of liberty: Jefferson's adamant and difficult conquest of the West

Elnpire ol LibertlJ: leHerson's Adamant
and DiHicul t Conquest of the West
BlJ IialJlelJ Schools
3 rd Place
Thomas Jefferson was a nl.an of many distin8uished endeavors in his lifetime, but possibly one of
his most si8nificant, yet often-ne8lected achievements, was the Louisiana Purchase, which in essence
secured the be8innin8 of western expansion in North America throu8h the United States 80vernment. The
Louisiana Purchase, more than anythin8, was the foundation for securin8 American interests in that
particular territon]. Jefferson was one of the most adamant supporters of his 8eneration in the
acquirement of the western lands. Jefferson believed that the acquisition of the west of North America
was an essential keystone for the future of the United States as a nation, and often referred to the territon]
as an "empire of liberty." Jefferson and his 8eneration attached an enormous importance to the west for a
plethora of economic, political, and social motivations. They encountered a variety of complications in
attainin8 the west. Two of the most si8nificant complications were the Native Americans and the United
Sta.tes Constitution.
There are many rationales provided as to why Jefferson and his 8eneration affixed such a
substantial importance to westward expansion. The west, above all else, was a place for America to expand
and pr08ress as a nation: politically, economically, and socially.
Since its foundin8, America had been revered and accepted as a nation of movement,
development, optimism, and people willin8 to work dili8entl y to achieve and secure these ideals.
Expansion was not seen as a mechanism that would dismember and demolish the nation, but rather as an
"empire of liberty" (Appleby 109). From a Jeffersonian standpoint, this liberty was for the white man, and
was a liberty free from European hierarchies and backward races; it was a place of fresh be8innin8s for the
nation (Appleby 109). It would be a place for the ambitious, self-sufficient individual to cultivate and
raise a family, a town, and ultimately a nation (Appleby 109).
For Jefferson and his 8eneration, expansion was the idyllic opportunity to endorse and firmly
embed hiBhly-re8arded American institutions, values, morals, and ethics. The people who would mi8rate
to the west were movin8 into vir8in land. This territory could be rendered and explicitl y cultivated to fit
the institutions entrenched in American ideol08Y (Appleby 110). Jefferson felt it was pertinent to
establish the principles of political liberty that America esteemed, throu8hout the western hemisphere,
by securin8 the land between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (Ellis 117). Essentially, Jefferson felt that it
was America's responsibility as a national entity to occupy these lands to ensure that credible, respected,
and valued institutions and ideals were enacted not only on the North American continent, but also in the
western hemisphere. It is no coincidence that Jefferson associated the term "liberty" with the expandin8
"empire" of the United States. In America, particularly from a JeHersonian perspective, the word is
associated with the prosperity of the individual. Land for men meant personal autonomy and economic
opulence (Appleby 110). The vast array of land available allowed limitless Americans to be independent,
industrious, and property-holders (Appleby 110).
The concept of Americans havin8 boundless opportunities and abilities to develop un-chartered
territory established the economic benefits of westward expansion. The west was seen by Jefferson as a
material base for weal th (Appleby 11 0). Westward expansion meant a few different thin8s for America,
economically speakin8. The more Americans who were to trek into this territory, the 8reater revenue the
United States 80vernment would 8ain. By officially owniIl.8 the western territories, the United States
80vernment would also own all of the resources and materials thelJ 8enerated. For example, the Louisiana
Purchase covered an immense and critical part of North America, £rom Canada to the Gul£ o£ Mexico, and
£rom the Mississippi River to the RocklJ Mountains (Ellis 101). The port of New Orleans was also
encompassed in the purchase, which was one of the most crucial ports at the time for tradin8, navi8ation,
and access to the Mississippi River (Ellis 101). BlJ 8ainin8 these lands, the United States could not onllJ
spread the social values espoused in America, but could alsophlJsicalllJ expand to ultimatellJ
economicalllJ profit the nation as a whole.
Throu8hout his life, be8innin8 with adolescence, Jefferson was enticed blJ the west (Ellis 117). As
president and esteemed politician he was virtualllJ forced, and willin8llJ accepted the challen8e, to
attempt western expansion. A slew o£ events and pure luck allowed him to establish what he envisioned
as an empire of libertlJ into actual U.S. territonJ. Throu8h timin8, crude diplomaclJ, and essentialllJ
convincin8 the French diplomats that the United States was willin8 and prepared to 80 to war over the
Louisiana territonJ, he achieved this diplomatic venture (Ellis 102). Also, the oriBinalland charters
8ranted to individuals and countries occuPlJin8 the territories were so immense and indefinite that thelJ
were venJ conducive to conflict (Peterson 371). It was a scheme that could not fit independent
commonwealths livin8 slJmbioticalhJ on one continent. Jefferson and his 8eneration could see the
potential for anarchlJ in the future, and desired a nation that was 80verned blJ one bodlJ and one set o£
laws. lie was persistent, tenacious, and meticulous at achievi118 his 80al (AppleblJ 107). He desired a
nation of people who spoke the same lan8uaBe, and who were 80verned blJ a cohesive, decisive authoritlJ
(AppleblJ 107).
Jefferson and his 8eneration encountered a varietlJ of complications in securin8 American
interests in the west. P ossibllJ the 8reatest opposition in the campai8n for the west was the Native
American Indian population, devoted to keepin8 the land that thelJ had occupied for manlJ centuries
(AppleblJ 104). Jefferson himsel£wds actualllJ quite intri8uedblJ the Indian culture and lan8uaBe. lie
even obtained li118Uistic data to be thorou8hllJ examined and anallJzed (Ellis 124). liowever, Jefferson
rec08nized the critical dependenclJ o£ 8ainin8 the west as official American territotl,), and overall he
viewed the Indians as savaBes needinB modernization. lie was willin8 to inte8rate the Native Americans
. into what was considered at the time respectable societal behaviors, but he would not accept them and
their hunter-8atherer, semi-nomadic lifeshJle (AppleblJ 104). Civilizin8 and cultivatin8 the Native
Americans was Jefferson's initial proposal; however, if this failed he was willin8 to enact outri8ht removal
of the people (AppleblJ 105). In a letter to William Clark, Jefferson ar8ued, "the end proposed should be
their extermination, or their removal belJond the lakes of Illinois river. The same world will scarcellJ do for
them and us"{AppleblJ 105). Jefferson was fuUlJ aware that his ambitious intentions for the west would
inhibit and essentialllJ demolish the Native American life that had existed for literalllJ centuries (Ellis
132). liowever, Jefferson's political motivations proved to be much more enticin8 than his humanitarian
concerns. The coincidental nature in the empire of libertlJ is that it is an immense paradox.. BlJ expandin8
and pr08ressivellJ seekin8libertlJ for the American citizens, Jefferson was actualllJ takin8 awalJ basic
liberties and natural ri8hts o£ the native inhabitants (Ellis 132). Judl)in8 blJ who the foundin8 fathers,
includinB Jefferson, felt deserved natural ri8hts and basic liberties, this denial was not a prevailin8
concern at the time. Althou8h the term itsel£ did not come into existence until coined blJ politicians in the
1840's, Jefferson and his 8eneration's precepts in a sense were the foundation for the use o£ the concept
"manifest destinlJ" to justi~ American expansion (Edmunds). Jefferson and his 8eneration desired a nation
that was sophisticated, modernized, and mobile enou8h to move forth into the nineteenth centutl,) with
other developed nations, principalllJ its European contemporaries.
CoincidentaUlJ enou8h, the United States Constitution actualllJ proved to be a primatl,)
tribulation in assertin8 a presence in western lands. The foundation for the phlJsical element of western
expansion is ultimatellJ tied to the Louisiana Purchase, which was drafted throu8h treatlJ in 1803 (Ellis
101). Jefferson was a stron8 proponent o£ strict constmctionism, and was well aware that the United States
I
Constitution at the time provided no authorization of the federal$overnment, particularly not the
executive branch, to purchase and acquire territory (Garret 96). The purchase was the most siBnificant
executive decision in American histon] (Garret 96). This is an ironic historical fact, considerin$ Jefferson's
extensive condemnation of the monarchical and centralized power of the $overl1luent (Garret 96).
Jefferson was somewhat distrau$ht over the controversy concernin$ the Constihition. He consulted both
the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, who had conflictin$ views on the matter (Garret
96). In the eminent and utilitarian nature of the situation, Jefferson chose to concur with the Secretan] of
the Treasury. lie considered the circumstances drastic, and not amenable to delay, because he believed
the purchase would immediately protect America from belli$erent European nei$hbors and would
promote the welfare of the newly formulated Republic (Garret 97). He also drafted an amendment,
which he then ur$ed Con$ress to pass with the $reatest expediency (Garret 96). After the territory was
purchased, Con$ress passed the Enablhl$ Act, which empowered the president to take possession of the
Louisiana territonJ and eave him full authority over civil and military matters (Garret 98). The purchase
of the Louisiana territory throu$h treaty dictated by the federal$overnment is one of the first
constitutional coups re$ardin$ implied powers for the president of the United States (Garret 99).
Jefferson and his $eneration were only the be$innin$s of American expansion. Political, social,
and economic factors that proved to be both relevant and pertinent at the time influenced the decision to
purchase the Louisiana territory, and fostered stron$ American sentiment to expand as a national entity
even further. Althou$h there were complications surroundin$ expansion, with almost any form of
pro$ressive chan$e, obstacles are likely to immediately ensue. In fact, almost Jefferson's entire empire
from coast to coast was ultimately reached. lie had ori$inally envisioned an expanded United States as
far south as Cuba, and as far north as Canada (Ellis 118). Althou$h this did not entirely occur, it came
exceedin$ly close, and it's the vision itself, and the proactive nature of Jefferson as a politician, diplomat,
and president, which are so immensely si$nificant. Jefferson's ideals of liberty were attached not only to
western expansion, but also to the Declaration of Independence, and to nearly every issue cOl1cernin$ the
American nation he has come to embody, symbolize, and epitomize.
Works Cited
Appleb1J, J01Jce. '2003. TbonlaS Jeffersoll. New York: Times Books, Henfi] Holt and Compal1l:l.104-110.
Edmunds, David R '2003. Native Al11erican Displacement Al11id U.S. Expansion. PBS Online
Conversation. Internet. Available from
http://www.pbs.orp/kera!usl11exicanwar!dialo$ues!prelude!manifest!d'2den$.htl11l;
accessed '26 March '2003.
Ellis, Joseph (Ed.). '2000. TllOmaS Jefferson: Genills of LilJertlj. New York: Vikin$ Studio (Pen$uin
Putnam Inc.}. 116-137.
Garret, Sheldon. 1991. TbePolitical Philosophlj ofTb0l11asJefferson. Baltil11ore: The Johns Iiopkins
Universih:l Press. 95-99.
Jackson, Donald. 1986. The West. In Tbol11asJefferson:A Reference Biq<jraphlj, ed. Merrill D. Peterson,
369-384 Macmillan Publishil1$ Co., Inc.
Appleb1J, JOljce. '2003. Tb0l11as Jefferson. New York: Til11es Books, Henrlj liolt and Companlj.104-110.
The author of this book exal11ines certain cOl11plications that Thomas Jefferson came across while
attemptin8 to achieve westward expansion, in particular the Louisiana Purchase. She also delves
into societal motivations re8ardin8 the expansion process.
Edmunds, David R '2003. Native Al11erican Displacement Al11id U.S. Expansion. PBS Online
Conversation. Internet. Available hom
http://www.pbs.or$!kera!usmexicanwar!dialo$ues!prelude!manifest!d'2den$.html;
accessed '26 March '2003.
Edmunds related the concept of Manifest Destinlj to the Native Al11erican Displacemen t and to
westward expansion in 1803 throu8h the Louisiana Purchase.
Ellis, Joseph (Ed.). '2000. Tbomas Jefferson: Genills of Libertlj. New York Vikin8 Studio (Pen8uin
Putnal11 Inc.}. 116-137.
The author observes Thomas leHerson's ideals espoused throu8hout his life. The chapter that
pertained to western expansion focused on the causes, effects, and motivations behind expansion
and the Louisiana Purchase.
Garret, Sheldon. 1991. Tbe Political Philosoplllj of Tb0l11aS Jefferson. Baltil11ore: The Johns Iiopkins
Universitl:J Press. 95-99.
The author of this book focused upon the political philosophies of Thol11as Jefferson. Included in
this were the issues dealin8 with the Constitution durin8 the time of expansion and Jefferson's
views re8ardin8 executive decision with the Louisiana Purchase.
Jackson, Donald. 1986. The West. In Thomas lefferson: A Reference Biography, ed. Merrill D. Peterson,
369-384 Macmillan Publishin$ Co., Inc.
The authors of this book went into $reat detail re$a.rdin$ the Louisiana Purchase and Jefferson's
standpoint on expansion throu$hout both his presidenclj and his life.

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